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Master versus Unity Toa - The large sets


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Poll: The 19,99 toa  

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Well as much as I think the 2016 sets are getting too much of a hard time(they are probably better than most stuff in G1) they can't compete with the Masters for me. That, being said, I only own the Masters yet and my opinions could change when I actually get the 2016 sets. I just feel like the Uniters have this clunky look to them and having technic is places there doesn't really need to be. I do love the Uniting feature they have with the creatures and most of the sets really benefit from, although I feel like the Toa themselves could look a bit more complete in their own. Also, it seems to me. that while not all character in their build is lost, a lot of it is.

 

All in all, the Masters are pretty much the perfect Toa for me, and the Uniters would have had to do a lot beat them on my ranking. That said, the Uniters are good sets, I just hope Bionicle heads more in the direction on this year than the next for 2017.

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Onua's the only one that I can say came out on top with his redesign. 

 

With Tahu, I originally hated the 2015 version. But after I bought it, I grew to like it. The new one is junk--poor proportions, terrible weapons, and too much gold.

 

Kopaka's okay in some regards, but his color scheme could have been done better.

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Onua's 2015 looked perfect, the colors were balanced, his build was unique & interesting, not to mention the excellent Mask of Earth. His warhammer may have looked gappy from the top, but the cool thing about it was that the head of the hammer could split into and form his digging claws. Unfortunately, he looks too tall and lanky due to the new torso piece that is vital for the waist spinning function, his bulky and muscular shoulders have flattened down to nothing, his left or right arm got withered and he shares the overly detailed torso pieces with the other toa. At least his new mask looks alright, even if the Nuva symbol throws off the symmetry. I also think his weapon would be more fun to play with.

 

Tahu had a great mix of red, fluorescent orange and gold, but the silver did look pretty out of place on his hands and feet. Unfortunately, it seems that there was no incentive for the set designers to retain the red in Tahu's 2016 set form since he is now a golden toa with neon orange shells. The massive swords/surfboard halves of Master Tahu are traded for two crystal blades on sticks. They're not very impressive.

 

Kopaka looks pretty bad in his new set form. With the mixing of silver shoulder pads, dark blue shells & a golden mask, it looks really bad compared to his previous set, which had a more balanced use of colors. I'm not too stoked about his sword, but I do like the gun he now wields.

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I've gotta go 2015 for all three. However, it's really a toss-up for Onua; I like 2015 more because I feel like the bulkier frame suits him better.

 

As for Kopaka, I also keep in mind that his 2016 form was clearly specifically designed to show off the combo features and work to advertise how they enhance the sets.

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I went with 2015 on all three. I don't like Kopaka or Tahu in 2016 much at all, with Kopaka having a very disorganized color scheme and Tahu using way too many different textures in gold. Onua's 2016 form is the only one of the larger Toa that I really consider a solid, almost flawless set, and even then he loses out by virtue of just being less unique and distinctive than he was in 2015.

Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

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From what I've seen, only Onua beats out his 2015 version in this poll. I didn't care for the gold on Tahu's 2015 version, as I felt it was a little tacked-on, but he has much more gold now. Kopaka appears to have a similar color problem.

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Growing pains. We're just in an awkward transition period where Lego is trying to bring back that "G1 feel" with mixed results. I won't let it stop me from getting these sets, though. There are things I like about them.

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The Toa- A Bionicle Retelling by NickonAquaMagna http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/25275-the-toa-a-retelling-of-bionicle/

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I don't like 2016 Onua, dislike Kopaka, and...Tahu. Oh, Tahu. I adore his new mask and the new azure accents, but he's too messy a set for that to be enough. While 2015 Tahu is probably my least favorite fo the Masters, I still think he's a better set. So yeah, 2015 for all three.

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Master Onua was good but Uniter Onua is vastly superior. The large chest piece on his 2015 form gave him really exaggerated proportions and he looked like he was in pain, also his arms were difficult to pose as a result of T-Rex-itus. Uniter Onua might be a tad bit too skinny but he still looks incredible in every way. His weapon is a great step up, although I very much liked the warhammer he had before, and replacing solid purple with trans purple was a smart move. I like his Uniter form's foot piece a lot better and his mask is really really cool, not too mention makes his head look more in proportion to his body. His 2015 Pakari was a great design but seemed too small which didn't help the wonky proportions.

 

Tahu was far better in his master form, if not a bit too smooth in places. His Uniter form is just too messy and too gold and he doesn't have anything that gives him a unique silhouette like his Master form had. The Uniter mask is an improvement though, it looks very cool. The azure is a nice accent but Tahu has almost no red what-so-ever. I think if trans red was brought back and replaced all the trans orange, my issue with that would be erased entirely. I see no reason why it can't, after all Gali is using dark trans blue more and more.

 

Kopaka was far more cohesive in his Master form while his Uniter form is a bit messy and the color scheme is all over the place. Master Kopaka just seems far more thought out than his Uniter form, although Uniter has a great sword and mask and I like the Metru blue as a secondary, but not as much as the trans light blue. 

Edited by ToaDraco
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Onua's messy color scheme was fixed in Uniter form - they settled on black, gold and purple. Love the drill gun - definately an upgrade.

 

Tahu 2016 feels like a downgrade. I've gone over his flaws already. Kopaka is slightly better in Master form - better gold design and a better mask.

 

Both Kopaka and Tahu remove characteristic surfboard and skis for some blades and greebles. Dissapointing.

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When it comes down to the bigger sets, I can really see the G1 Bionicle influence with the more complex torsos and details, and return to classic parts like the Skrall/Vorox shell and new more detailed parts as well (like Kopaka's shin pieces). I like that, but it also goes to show that a good build and complexity don't mean a thing if these Toa don't look aesthetically pleasing. I like the bigger sets but they have some glaring issues.

 

Onua looks great, Uniter form or Master form. It's hard to choose, but I think he has more character in his Master form. The build is such a deviation from the norm, whereas the Unity Toa all use the same generic torso piece and that takes away from Onua overall, IMO.

 

Kopaka looks great but his color distribution is awful! I love his mask but that's about where it ends. 

 

Same goes with Tahu. I love the mask but the colours and strange, awkward proportions don't do much for him. The Master form was nearly perfect. Lack of red really kills it for me.

 

Still think the sets are great but, 2015 was just an amazing wave and will be tough to beat. Maybe one day we'll get a wave with the complex designs and ideas of the 2016 Toa but the cohesiveness and aesthetic perfection of the 2015 version. That would be amazing. 

 

-NotS

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I have to say, while Uniter Tahu isn't nearly as good as Master Tahu, in his united form he's really awesome and blows 2015 tahu away. Easily the best united form for me, and maybe one of my favorite things to come out of the reboot. Something about adding Ikir to Tahu gets rid of all the proportions and clashing texture problems for me while simultaneously giving him the visual flair and identity he desperately lacked. So good. 

Edited by hiddenderek
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Same goes with Tahu. I love the mask but the colours and strange, awkward proportions don't do much for him. The Master form was nearly perfect. Lack of red really kills it for me.

-NotS

 

Well, they're kind of trying to replace red with trans orange as a signature color, like he's literally made of fire, contained in a golden frame or something.

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Well, they're kind of trying to replace red with trans orange as a signature color, like he's literally made of fire, contained in a golden frame or something.

 

 

I don't like that though. I love solid red (especially the bright classic red normally used with Tahu) and no other Toa is predominantly a translucent colour. If that was their intention, well okay. But It confusing when red is still incorporated on Tahu - three pieces sure, but still enough to throw it off.

 

-NotS

Edited by Nidhiki of the Shadows

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One thing I like about Uniter Tahu is he has very few main pieces that have more than two of each. I really like that.

See, that's one of the things I really dislike about him. In terms of part selection, of course, it's a boon. But it takes a heavy toll on his look. Part of why I'd consider the new Lewa to be one of the best designs is that his repetition of the Vorox armor (in addition to that armor's naturally smooth, versatile aesthetic) helps him to look like a cohesive whole. Tahu doesn't have that—the new shell detail, torso shell, and piece of unification work together okay (as they were designed to do), but the boxier look and bulkier pistons of the 2015 piston shell detail don't quite jive with those other textures, nor do the art deco lines and ragged edges of the skeleton shell detail. And they're all gold[/url]. Systematically varying the colors of a model can help even a model with contrasting textures flow together by visually separating and layering parts with differing levels and styles of detail. Tahu doesn't even get that, since the heavy use of gold forces all of those contrasting textures to compete for the viewer's attention as the outermost armor layer. Altogether he ends up looking more like he's patched together from multiple figures instead of his parts looking like they belong together.

Edited by Lyichir

Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

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Having acquired Tahu today... I think he looks fine. I was surprised by how painlessly the 2015 piston texture piece fits with the torso and thigh armor, and even the crystal pieces on his shins have pistons on the bottom that look... well, pretty much exactly like the ones on his thighs. So the only pieces that REALLY stand out to me are the "skull armor" on his shoulders, but see, I don't even mind that because the downward sloping angle of the points looks much less aggressive than the other ways it's been worn, and when he merges with Ikir, it ends up looking like feathers to go with the bird head and wings! And even when Tahu's by himself, I can see how it's kinda sorta supposed to look like fire. Some of the photos of Tahu may make him look gaudy and all over the place, but having him in hand... I think he's great.

 

BTW, anyone got a list of fan made mask powers? Specifically, ones with questionable moral implications? I had a list a while ago, but I lost it.

Edited by NickonAquaMagna
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One thing I like about Uniter Tahu is he has very few main pieces that have more than two of each. I really like that.

See, that's one of the things I really dislike about him. In terms of part selection, of course, it's a boon. But it takes a heavy toll on his look. Part of why I'd consider the new Lewa to be one of the best designs is that his repetition of the Vorox armor (in addition to that armor's naturally smooth, versatile aesthetic) helps him to look like a cohesive whole. Tahu doesn't have that—the new shell detail, torso shell, and piece of unification work together okay (as they were designed to do), but the boxier look and bulkier pistons of the 2015 piston shell detail don't quite jive with those other textures, nor do the art deco lines and ragged edges of the skeleton shell detail. And they're all gold[/url]. Systematically varying the colors of a model can help even a model with contrasting textures flow together by visually separating and layering parts with differing levels and styles of detail. Tahu doesn't even get that, since the heavy use of gold forces all of those contrasting textures to compete for the viewer's attention as the outermost armor layer. Altogether he ends up looking more like he's patched together from multiple figures instead of his parts looking like they belong together.

 

I think it works fine, the 2015 piston shell works well together with the torso and the uniter piece for me, despite it being  larger. And its a nice callback to his 2015 design. The shin pieces work well  with the new sword pieces, and the texture on his shoulder armor blends with the torso piece due to all the ridges they both have. If anything the only thing that doesn't fit in my opinion is the red and yellow fire piece since they have a more angular and cartoony quality than the piston-y and ridgey quality that all the armor pieces share. And having them all be a gold color kind of helps make them blend to me more than if they were a different color, ###### i'd be fine with his shin armor being solid gold since the trans orange makes the crystal pieces stand out too much. Also, for some reason i can't pin down, most of the awkward proportion and coherency problems with him vanish when he's united with Ikir. When he's by himself he's mediocre for me, but when he's united with Ikir he looks like the best thing about all of gen 2. 

 

A little off  topic, but I actually really like Tahu being a gold Toa now with trans orange underneath him. It makes him feel like an armored hero thats MADE of fire, instead of a robot thats simply red. For me, transparent parts really bring out the 'fire' vibe a LOT more than red does. 

Edited by hiddenderek
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